Rejection
by Port-of-Seas
Summary: After his mother's death, young Inuyasha had a hard time adjusting. Whoever said it was only demons who rejected him?


**Rejection**

An Inuyasha Fanfic by PortofSeas, a.k.a. Sensei, Gure, Talon, slave, and OMG YOU CRUEL PERSON!

Author's Note: This was inspired by a pic I saw on Deviant. I was in the process of looking up Human Inuyasha pics for another fanfic I'm working on, and I came across one of a small human Inuyasha cowering against a tree. On the spot, this popped into my head.

Disclaimer: If I owned Inuyasha, I wouldn't waste my time writing these as fanfics. I would throw it right into the story. If I could…

Act 1: Dream

_"Inuyasha, I love you so much…"_

"_Momma!" the child screamed, tears spilling down his face. "Momma, no!"_

_The fair woman's face, smiled serenely down at her hanyou child. Inuyasha wailed, reaching his chubby arms out to reach her, desperate to feel her arms holding him again, as they should. The face began to dissolve into darkness. Inuyasha cried out in fear and frustration, but nothing he could do would bring her back._

"_Momma!"_

Act 2: Human

Inuyasha awoke cold and shivering, the nightmare still clutching at his chest. It had been some time now since his mother had been killed-how long he didn't quite know. To someone his age, it felt like an eternity.

Overhead, the stars twinkled like diamonds dusted across a rich swath of velvet. There was no moon. Instinctively his hands went up to feel for his soft puppy-like ears, but they had vanished. Instead, at a lower place on his head, were those two fleshy things humans had. He grabbed at his hair, looking it over. Black as charcoal.

There was no denying it. For this one night, he was human, for the first time without his mother by his side.

A sudden fear gripped made his insides go cold. Usually this transformation didn't worry him. Aside from the awkward feeling of his body changing, something he often slept through if he went to bed early enough, he had been taught by his mother that it was nothing to be worried about. That was only a month ago.

But that had been before, when she'd been there to protect him. The thought of suddenly being human, being weaker and duller, frightened him. He had to take care of himself now.

Inuyasha choked. Alone… Unbidden tears came to his eyes, threatening to spill over. She was dead. His chest throbbed with a familiar pain. The one person in this world who had truly loved him was dead.

He wiped hurriedly at his face, erasing all evidence of the tears. It had always made her sad to see him cry…

Clambering to his feet, still shaking like a leaf, Inuyasha began to trudge through the forest, searching this way and that for some more secure shelter to hide in until sunrise. The rocks and sticks stung his feet, which were no longer rough or padded. He refused to whimper. This was something he had to get used to, as long as he was human.

Here and there a firefly would flicker, an owl hoot, a cricket chirp. It was almost a magical place, and despite his fear, the boy found that he could at least appreciate it. Off in the distance, he heard the sound of voices, and the smell of cooking meat teased his senses. Had be been a hanyou that night, he actually might have started drooling.

Eager for a hot meal, Inuyasha carelessly abandoned his search for shelter and wandered down closer to the village. Most of the people would be asleep, he knew, but maybe whoever was cooking would let him have some. He remembered his meals back home with his mother. Steamed vegetables over rice or noodles, eaten by the river, surrounded by flowers…

Inuyasha bit his lip, a lump rising in his throat. No more days like that, he knew. Pushing the images from his mind, he tried to focus on the present. One meal at a time, living one more moment on his own.

A sharp bark cut through the air, slicing the boy from his thoughts as easily as a blossom cut from its stem. Inuyasha gasped as two burly dogs came running toward him, teeth bared. He turned and, not knowing what else to do, ran, the dogs in hot pursuit. He dashed forward, paying no mind to where he was going, and only just avoided running straight into a tree. The dogs closed in around him, leaving no room for escape. Inuyasha leaned back against the bark and fell to his knees. It was over. _Momma, I'll see you soon…_

Closing his eyes and whimpering in fear, the child curled up into a ball, his back against the tree, waiting for the first painful bite.

"Hey, you two! Get away from there, what have you found?"

Inuyasha glanced up to see a thin, balding man pushing the dogs aside, reprimanding their behavior sharply. Then he turned and spotted the boy.

"Well, what have we here? Come on, I won't hurt you," he offered his hand, his harsh face softening into a smile. Hesitantly, Inuyasha took it, still shaking harder than ever.

The friendly man helped him to his feet and looked him over carefully.

"I'm sorry if they scared you," he apologized, indicating the dogs. "Goodness, if your eyes were any bigger, they wouldn't fit in your head. Why don't you come home with me? I bet you're hungry."

Inuyasha's reluctance dissipated with the prospect of a warm meal. He nodded eagerly.

"You tired?"

Inuyasha nodded again. The man knelt down and gathered the child into his arms. Inuyasha noted with some dissatisfaction that his strong, wiry arms were nowhere near as comforting as his mother's had been. He was carrief into the village, where several houses were alight with cooking food. It must not have been late after all.

The man brought him to a small hut, and Inuyasha nearly melted for the smell of sizzling beef and roasting vegetables.

"Natsumi," he called, pushing throught he shabby door. "Look what I found."

Out of a back room, two children just older than Inuyasha burst forth, followed by a gentle looking woman.

"What is this now?" she asked. Inuyasha recoiled at the word 'what' rather than 'who'. Natsumi cooed and took him in her arms. Inuyasha felt strangely content in her rough, peasant arms. They were like his mother's.

"What's your name, little one?" she asked.

"I-Inuyasha," he stammered. Natsumi looked puzzled. He could see her mouthing it. 'Dog Demon.'

"What an odd name," she mused. "Nevermind. Inuyasha, this is Tohru and Hotaru. Children, this is Inuyasha." She set Inuyasha down, and he eyed the children shyly, remembering how poorly human children had taken to him in the past. He had forgotten that, tonight, he was human.

"Hello," the girl Hotaru said eagerly. "What were you doing outside?"

Inuyasha shrugged. The boy, Tohru, leaned forward.

"Where are your parents, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha bit his lip and glanced away, making his point clear. He didn't want to talk about it.

"Are you hungry?" the man asked. All the children turned excitedly and chimed a chorus of "yes!"

Act 3: Night

His belly full at last, Inuyasha curled under the shabby blankets the family had offered him. He felt so overwhelmed to receive such kindness after such hardships. Momma was surely smiling down upon him. Though his hearing was diminished in this form, he could hear the couple conversing in the other room.

"Are you certain he was alive?"

"Positive, Natsumi. If I hadn't found him, the dogs might very well have frightened him to death," the man assured her.

"But look at his clothes. He certainly isn't a peasant," Natsumi argued. There was a clank as she set something down on the table. "Could he be noble?"

"I'd say he more resembled a priest in training than a noble."

"Some nobles dress their children that way."

There was a pause, and Inuyasha held his breath.

"We could keep him here a while," the man suggested. "The poor thing was lost and frightened out of his mind."

"How do you know he's lost? He barely said two words." There was a scuffling along the floor as one of them went to the other's side.

"If someone comes for him, then we'll worry about this then."  
Inuyasha breathed out. They wouldn't send him away.

"And what a strange name he has," Natsumi sighed. "Imagine, naming such a child 'Dog Demon'…"

"Hey," a voice interrupted. Inuyasha turned to see Hotaru's beaming face.

"Hey," he murmured in reply.

"Why don't you talk much?" she asked, propping herself up on one elbow.

"I dunno."

"You going to stay here?"

"I hope so."

"Good," she whispered cheerfully, leaning over. "Tohru's older than me and he's such a bully. I'd like a new brother. Do you have any brothers?"

Inuyasha hesitated. Did he know Sesshoumaru well enough to call him a brother? He'd never met him. He glanced at Hotaru and shrugged.

"Do you have a sister?" she went on.

"No."

"Good, I'll be your sister."

Inuyasha could not recall having met another quite as pleasant as Hotaru. He decided he liked her. But would it be okay to accept a new family just like this? So soon after his mother had died?

"Hotaru?" he asked, fingering one charcoal lock.

"Yes?"

Inuyasha diverted his eyes bashfully.

"If I stop looking like this, will you still be my sister?"

Hotaru looked puzzled.

"What do you mean?"

"Like…" Inuyasha fumbled for an explanation, without admitting that he was half demon. "Like my hair."

"Your hair?" she reiterated, her eyebrows raising incredulously.

"Yes, my hair. If it changed to white, would you still be my sister?" he pleaded. Hotaru stared at him a moment, then started giggling.

"You're silly, Inuyasha," she laughed. "Of course I will."

"E-even if I look a little scary?"

"You couldn't look scary, Inuyasha," the girl insisted. "Not even if your hair was green."

Inuyasha smiled.

"Really?"

"Really. Not even if your were covered with… blue spots!"

"Or orange stripes?" he siggested. Hotaru nodded.

"I'll see you in the morning, kay?"

Inuyasha nodded.

"Okay."

Hotaru closed her eyes and rolled over. Inuyasha snuggled deeper into his blankets. In his mind, he heard his mother singing him softly to sleep.

Act 4: Morning

"K'so!" a voice hissed. "Natsumi! Natsumi!"

Footsteps scuffled across the floor.

"What is it-oh my…"

"Get the children, Natsumi, now!"

Inuyasha stirred, his ears twitching at the sound. Sunlight streamed in through the windows, creeping between his eyelids.

"Momma! Momma, what happened to Inuyasha?"

"You fool, he tricked us last night."

"Hush, Tohru! Hotaru, don't go back in there. That child is not human."

"I'll fetch an exorcist."

Inuyasha sat up, rubbing sleep from his eyes. As the blurred room came into focus, he saw the expresions etched on their faces. Al all-too-common one. Fear, disgust… He reached up, his fingers brushing his soft, velvet like puppy ears. It was morning…

"Stay back, demon!" Tohru warned fiercely. Hotaru was crying into her mother's skirt, confused and frightened. Inuyasha's eyes widened with hurt.

"But-" he stammered.

"I'll fight you!" Tohru warned, taking a defensive stance before his mother. "I'll beat you up!"

"Be gone, demon!" the father ordered, placing a hand on Tohru's shoulder. Fat tears flowed down Inuyasha's face. He didn't bother to wipe them away. They hated him. They decided they didn't want him… They were just like everyone else. Uneasily, he stood. The family backed away. Squeezing his eyes shut to blot out the tears, Inuyasha ran from the house, his tough hanyou feet carrying him from the village, deep into the woods, away away from the humans.

He whimpered softly, charging through the underbruah. His parents were dead. Humans despised him. Demons scorned him. There was nowhere in the world for the hanyou child now. He was on his own.

In the east, the sun rose. The birds chirped, the frogs croaked, the flowers bloomed. It was only the beginning of a life tainted by rejection.

Fin


End file.
